Re: Wot not How.
 

I think that's right in this instance. If someone was chatting to you in the pub you wouldn't correct their grammar would you? So in this sort of situation I don't think it's relevant to correct anyone either.

Re: Wot not How.
 

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Re: Wot not How.
 

I would echo that sentiment Bob.......don't let anyone put you off posting.

Re: Wot not How.
 

One common misuse of the English language, which usually appears in 'Yank-speak', (Americanised English) is the dropping of the hyphen in words like co-ordinate and co-operation. Whenever I read the word 'cooperation', I see a mental picture of someone being ordained into the art of barrel making. To drop the hyphen in a published work is pure laziness on the part of the publisher.

Re: Wot not How.
 

I agree that the content of a post is far more important than the spelling. That's as far as AccyWeb and message boards in general are concerned.

I do find it difficult sometimes when the grammar is very bad because it can lead to the meaning coming across totally different to what was intended and that in turn can lead to arguments between people who don't actually realise that in fact the have the same point of view but simply can't understand what the other is saying. This tends not to happen in face to face conversation because we can interrupt each other and ask for clarification.

One classic example of a grammatical error leading to an incorrect meaning is an ad on TV at present for Homebase hanging baskets. It states "Only two for £15.99 while stocks last" They are actually saying that you ONLY get two of them for your £15.99 while the present stocks last. (When they get new stock do they mean you may get more than two for that price?) What they are actually trying to say is that they only cost £15.99 for two while stocks last and that if/when they get new stock they will cost more than £15.99 for two. The latter is encouragement to purchase a bargain whereas he ad in fact is discouraging because it implies a rip-off.

In such cases grammar does matter. And I totally agree with Sparky about the ubiquitous apostrophe.

Re: Wot not How.
 

So the general consensus appears to be that it doesn't really matter if you don't spell correctly . Which seems to me to point out the failings in the education system more eloquently than anything else.

If you acccept the proposal that intention is more important than than the means of expression and pursue it to its logical conclusion...you actually end up with a fairly accurate representation of the state of, not only the borough but, of the country too. The rules that our forbears accepted and applied to their daily lives, which enabled them to build a succesful town, no longer have any currency. How far off are we then from the point at which one and one only make two when the reckoner can be bothered or it is considered politically correct to make it so?( I acknowlege that this state has already been reached by some members of HBC. )

In saying this I recognise that some people do have genuine difficulty with words and they have my entire sympathy. We generally make allowances for that. But I think that if we extend such allowance to general laziness and sloppiness in speech then we are ultimately colluding in the degradation of our cultural heritage.

Surely the purpose of speech and written language is to communicate your meaning as precisely as possible, not give a vague approximation of what you intend to say.

How would it be, for example, if you employed a builder to build you a new home and he decided that he couldn't be bothered to put in the precise number of windows of the shape and size specified in the plans, and instead decided to include only one. Would you conclude that he was exercising his right to self-expression and since his intention was clear you shouldn't criticise him and meekly accept what was offered?

Or if you were on the market and asked for half a dozen apples and were sold a picture of them instead. The intention was clear, but the means falls far short of your your expectation, do you criticise or do you walk into Wilkinson's to buy a frame for the picture?

Or yet again, if the wages clerk decided that accurately calculating wages was boring and decided instead to employ an entirely random system of calculation, and on some occaisions couldn't be arsed to do it at all! Would you meekly accept what was, or was not, offered?

Re: Wot not How.
 

The Importance of Correct Punctuation

-unknown



Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?
Gloria




Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Gloria

Re: Wot not How.
 

That illustrates point very well.

On a slightly different tack, does bad spelling affect the importance of what a person has to say? No, I don't think it does. But it does reduce considerably its effectiveness.

Consider Graham's post #43 in the Fairground thread. A great deal of what he has to say is very important, but is lost because his post is so difficult to read. This is compounded when you realise that Graham is a Councillor. (This is not a personal dig Graham, I only use the example to make a point.)

Accuracy in speech and writing is as vital as accuracy in mathematics and science and medicine and politics and shipbuilding and going to the moon and bringing up children and anything else you care to mention.

Re: Wot not How.
 

I want so much to agree with you Acrylic-bob because I value good spelling and punctuation. I teach my kids to spell correctly and I'll be horrified if they use sloppy spelling and grammar as they grow older. But, in the context of a forum like this I don't think we should discourage anyone from posting simply because they can't spell or put their commas in the right place. We wouldn't tell someone to shut up in a conversation because they'd used 'was' and 'were' in the wrong context, would we?

Perhaps we should do something constructive and encourage all the bad spellers and users of incorrect grammar to learn how to do it correctly. What about setting up a mentoring system where someone who admits they have a problem teams up with someone who professes to be an expert and then via PM they work together to put it right?

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I do not usually point out other peoples errors because I make plenty myself. This thread is about mistakes so I thought I would make an exception to my rule.

We all make mistakes. I don't think we should persecute people for them ( unless they are very funny :) )

One quick point that some of us might not know, google.co.uk is good for spelling words. Just type the wrongly spelt word and click search. If it thinks it is wrong it will suggest the correct spelling. You can also get a definition of a word. Just type 'define' and then the word and click search. Try it, I have to use it all the time.

Re: Wot not How.
 

I correct my children, of course. What I meant was that I wouldn't correct anyone in a social situation whilst we were having a conversation.

Re: Wot not How.
 

One of my past jobs was an assistant co-ordinator for a homeless shelter in Accrington that lasted for many years. Would it have been better to have a perfect speller with no experiance or would it be better to have someone that already has hands on experiance that can not spell the odd word?
I am now a singer and do karaoke, when someone gets up to give us a song it does not matter to me if they can sing or not, at least they have had a go, i do not discourage anyone by saying that they are a bad singer. To me that i am not a good speller does not mean it is the end of world, i have always worked hard and my four kids whant for nothing

Re: Wot not How.
 

if we make allowances for people with genuine difficulty with words,a-b how do we determine on the net who has and who hasn't?(puzzeled)